Working within a niche industry as a dermatologist is challenging due to the common perception that skincare is a luxury. Since 2017, InnerAction Media (IAM) has worked with the Dermatology Center for Skin Health, PLLC, a dermatologic company located in Morgantown, West Virginia. Our team obtained the opportunity to provide new branding and help this dermatology practice increase new patient counts. 

Throughout the years, our team works to change the Dermatology Center for Skin Health, PLLC continuously marketing strategy, to always stay top-of-mind with their customers and potential customers. Continue below to read more about IAM’s Inbound Marketing process. 

A few days ago, a good friend asked me what book I was currently reading. Embarrassed, I admitted that I had been recently hyper-focusing on my business and hadn’t read any books in the past couple of months.

It’s funny because I know that reading and lifelong learning are habits that most of the world’s most successful business leaders engage in.

For instance, did you know Warren Buffet reads 500 pages a day? Mark Cuban reads about three hours a day. Bill Gates, one of the most wealthy people in the world, reads 50 books a year.

I left that meeting and immediately purchased Simon Sinek’s latest release: The Infinite Game. It was published just the day before.

I want to share some of my thoughts on this new leadership work by the man who brought us Start with Why and Leaders Eat Last. 

InnerAction Media (IAM) President and Founder, Jim Matuga, published his book, Marketing Matters: Your Guide to Getting More Customers and Increasing Revenue, in January.

This 27 chapter book takes business owners step-by-step through developing a marketing strategy, and teaches them how to implement it.

Now more than ever, I love commercials – in particular, commercials that tell a story.  I’m that person that puts down their phone to watch the commercial in between the big game or TV show.  Telling a really good story in 30 to 60 seconds is an art, and I admire the creatives who do it so well.

As a video producer of TV commercials and web videos, I find inspiration in those commercials that I love. I think about what has touched me, what has made me laugh, cry or inspired me and try to incorporate those elements into our commercial and video productions at InnerAction Media.

In the last few years, we have seen some really great TV and Internet advertising campaigns, and I wanted to highlight a few of my favorites and what I believe makes them effective:

• Subaru "Life Story on the Line"
• HP "Little Moments"
• Extra Gum "The Story of Sarah and Juan"

Not convinced storytelling is a good approach for marketing your business? Check out this excerpt from Donald Miller’s Story Brand:

“In every line of copy we write, we’re either serving the customer’s story or descending into confusion; we’re either making music or making noise.”

In today’s market, you are either telling a story that draws your customer in, or you are adding to the confusion. So how do you tell an effective story in your marketing efforts? Here are four tips to get you started.

Your website is so important in today’s digital-first era. Today’s buyer is going to check out your company’s online presence. They want to educate themselves on your products/solutions through your content, blogs, eBooks and videos.

Keywords. Those are what you previously based your web pages around. Long tail, descriptive keywords that summed up what you wanted users to find you by when using Google.

Today, that has changed. Keywords are still important, but they are evolving to adapt to ever changing search engines.

SEO is now switching to a topic cluster model. A single “pillar” page acts as the main hub of content for an overarching topic. Then, many content pages that are related to that same topic link back to the pillar page and to each other.

This linking action signals to search engines that the pillar page is an authority on the topic. Over time, the page may rank higher. The topic cluster model is a way of organizing a site’s content pages using a cleaner and more deliberate site architecture.

Keep reading to learn more about topics clusters.

TV advertising should be considered an integral part of an overall video marketing strategy. With hundreds of TV channels now available, TV advertising is ubiquitous. 

However, TV commercials are, by design, short and sweet. Employing a TV commercial as part of a larger video marketing strategy will exponentially increase the distribution of your message about your product or service.

With everything being on the Internet, it’s easy to see why everyone would want to stay away from a more traditional marketing strategy such as print; however, I recently participated in the West Virginia University (WVU) CreateAthon where my team developed a mostly print campaign for a local non profit organization.

Read on to learn why.

Whether a company specializes in a long-term or one-off product, customer retention is a priority.

Perhaps you've invested millions of dollars and a lot of time to create a product. You don't want all that effort to get wasted. Customers are a valuable business asset that adds value in the form of repeat purchases or referrals. However, many brands often fail when it comes to devising ways to retain customers especially if they sell one-off products.

Many companies think that a customer call center is enough to increase retention. Often, people contact customer support when they want to inquire about a product. Just because customers feel satisfied with a product doesn't mean you've retained them. The marketing team isn't enough to keep loyal clients.

Here are a few marketing techniques to earn more profit and increase customer retention.

To many, social media marketing can be like walking into a black hole when it comes to researching what to do and what not to do.

We understand this. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive list of what to do and what not to do when it comes to marketing your business on social media.

They say in the film world that you are only as good as your next script, and Hollywood A-list directors tend to know a thing or two about screenwriting. You may be surprised to learn that many of their thoughts and ideas on scripting transcend seamlessly into the world of corporate video production.

Seriously, just read the quotes.

The time lapse is a perfect medium to showcase beauty and action. Like many forms of video, the time lapse uses captivating imagery and movement to compel viewers. Unlike many forms of video, the time lapse offers a unique perspective that is unfamiliar yet appealing to viewers.

When you think of a traditional time lapse, fast paced images of skyscraper construction, starlit desert night skies and tree-engulfed rambling brooks come to mind. It is easy for us to recall the most beautiful natural or man made scenes when we think of the time lapse.

Continue on to learn more about time lapse and how it can work for your business. 

We get a lot of questions about keywords. Questions including if keywords are still relevant, why did Hubspot get rid of the keyword function tab and many more.

We’re here to answer these questions and to explain a few things.

No one can dispute that video plays a significant and growing role in marketing today. The digital revolution has opened the door to video across all mediums; it is certainly not limited to television anymore. Despite this growing trend, the video production process is often times misunderstood.

To better understand what goes into and what goes on behind the scenes of a typical marketing video, I have listed below a few of the common misconceptions of video production that I have encountered in my years as a TV/Video Producer.

Developing a marketing strategy for a non-profit organization varies greatly from the standard business marketing plan.  

Creating and maintaining a plan may seem daunting, but never fear, we’re here to help develop an effective strategy for non-profit organizations.

When marketing, it’s crucial that you be true to yourself. Define your mission, and do not lose sight of it. Be honest, and make realistic promises that you can and will deliver on. This will help you gain an advantage over those who aren’t true and use marketing for the sole purpose of sales, regardless of the information they’re providing.

Get the most out of your non-profit marketing efforts by developing a well thought out, organized and strategic marketing plan.

Read on to learn some key steps to help get you started!

There are so many reasons why you should consider using video in your real estate business. Other than all of the eye popping statistics about how much video people are watching online per day, I can offer you this information from some research and my own personal experience.

Read on to learn more.

Jennifer Livingston for InnerAction Media

Marketing campaigns are an excellent method of drumming up support for a new or established business. However, the amount of thought, strategy and decision making you put into the marketing strategies directly influences the effectiveness of your campaign. You will make mistakes when deciding on the best strategies to move forward in promoting and marketing your business; however, you don’t need to always take shots in the dark. By incorporating these must-have campaign elements in a campaign, you will see your campaigns grow into fruition.

Read on for five marketing elements you must have for a successful marketing campaign.

Working in TV and video production is a great gig if you are fortunate enough to find it. I have been lucky enough to work as a video/TV producer for both large and small video production companies, in addition to running my own video production business for more than 15 years.

Recently, I was hired as a video producer at InnerAction Media, a digital marketing firm based in Morgantown, WV. And, although video production is just a portion of InnerAction’s business - it is becoming a much larger area of business. With more and more people realizing the response and results that come with a great video, the number of people looking to incorporate videos into their overall marketing campaigns has grown significantly over the last couple of years.  

Beyond creative, there are lots of logistics that go into even the shortest of productions. You might have a great concept in mind, but in most cases, you’ll need the expertise of a video producer to help bring those concepts to life. iPhone videos don't cut it on a commercial level, except for Apple (and its billions in resources). Depending on what you are looking for, there are benefits and drawbacks to working with large and small production companies and companies that provide more than just video production.

The ways of achieving high quality photos and videos are becoming a thing of the past. Over the last year or so, the buzz has been all about drones--and for good reason. Used for a multitude of reasons, drones are becoming the wave of the future, and if you don’t get on board now, you may just get left behind.

Read on for 5 pros of utilizing drone footage for your West Virginia business.

How many billboards do you see on your drive to work? What about driving from your office to the grocery store, or to pick up the kids from school?

The 2016 Neilsen Out-of-Home Advertising Study found that nearly half of U.S. residents age 16 or older (of those surveyed) travel in a vehicle for two hours or more on an average weekday. And they are paying attention to billboards while they’re driving or riding in a car.

80% of U.S. adults age 16 or older (of those surveyed) noticed a billboard in the past month, with 62% noticing a billboard in the past week. Fewer survey participants noticed a digital billboard — only 59%; however, only an estimated 1.7% of all billboards are digital.

Perhaps your company already utilizes billboards — or maybe you’ve been considering the investment for a while. Do billboards work better for certain industries? Should your business use billboards?

Read on to learn more.

For a business that is new to video marketing, working with a video production company might seem intimidating.

• What should you expect?
• What should you be prepared for?
• What kind of questions should you ask?

Fortunately, if you enter the relationship with the right expectations, video marketing can be a fun, fruitful experience.

Here are 5 key things to consider when hiring a video production company. 

The active free market is one of the most unpredictable aspects of our society…well, sometimes the weather may be a very close second.

Over the last 15 years of business, we’ve seen a huge shift in how we strategically market our small businesses. There were the days when we bought a monthly subscription to the local radio station to play a 30-second spot on the most popular hit station or bought a full page ad in the local newspaper and expected a parade of customers to call by next Tuesday.

The world is not like that anymore.

What is Digital Advertising? Digital Advertising, also called internet marketing, is when businesses like yours leverage internet technologies to deliver promotional advertisements to consumers. It includes promotional advertisements and messages delivered through:

• Email
• Social Media
• Online Advertising on: Search engines & banner ads

There are many different types of digital advertising. In this blog, we will discuss five:

1. Geofencing
2. Retargeting
3. Keyword/Search Targeting
4. Behavioral Targeting
5. IP Targeting

Digital advertising will drive traffic to your website, increase leads and generate more patients.

Let’s dive in!

When we are in the beginning stages of creation for a new client or a new video, we map the entire video, audio and certain graphic placements. All three of these elements are a key part in producing an effective film. However, the one element that doesn't get much credit, as it should, is the motion graphic/animated work that gets placed within the video.

For those that are inside the industry, it can be easy to understand what we are talking about. But if you just arrived here or are starting in the motion graphics world, you probably may have asked yourself: What does motion graphics really mean? Especially when you see it referenced in different ways like "animation."

When was the last time you saw a video advertisement?

The marketing tool that used to be chained to network television, trapped in a 30 second box, which could only be unlocked with a $50,000-marketing-budget shaped key, is now free. Free to roam the various platforms consumers are consuming. We now see video ads on our news articles, video ads on our Twitter feeds, and video ads on our video ads. Today, law firms are leveraging video marketing more than ever. But traditionally, calculating ROI for video has been very difficult. So, what are the benefits of video marketing for lawyers?

Business owners, brand managers, marketing directors and creatives — this one’s for you. When was the last time the word compliance was heard in your office? Probably not recently…if ever.

We often get so caught up in the creative aspects of our marketing and advertising jobs that we fail to consider the legal implications of the claims, disclosures and transparency of our copy. Marketing compliance is a big deal — it protects consumers from being tricked, misled or lied to by a business. Compliance laws also limit the information that companies can ask consumers for, regulate communications between consumers and businesses and protect consumer privacy.

In this blog, we assess the best practices for compliance in marketing, share how your marketing team can follow compliance guidelines and how you can avoid compliance issues.

When you think about end-of-the-month marketing reports, you probably groan. It’s a lot of time spent sitting at a computer, looking at numbers and trying to make sense of those numbers.

For a lot of people who aren’t crazy about analyzing numbers, it’s can seem like a daunting process; however, it’s a simple process, and it’ll only take you about two hours to create.

Why is a report important for your business, and what data should be put into it?

Color theory, the guiding principles for selecting colors that work in harmony, the message that colors communicate, why colors clash and how we perceive color — is incredibly complex.

Color is closely tied to memory and first impressions. For example, when you walk down the isle at the grocery store looking for a particular brand of cereal, you know the primary color on the box. Using color alone, you’re able to narrow the selection and find the brand and variety you want. It’s also crucial in creating the right first impression — research suggests that one of the main deciding factors in whether somebody likes or dislikes a new product is color.

Think about children and food. In the US, many foods marketed toward children have added colors. If a fruit candy was all white or beige, would children find it as appealing? Probably not. Color helps shape the perception of the product as “tasty” and “fun." Just like color can shape the perception of your business and office location.

Read on to learn how color affects the perception of your healthcare business — from your logo and website to the paint on the office walls.

Music is essential for good advertising. No, I’ll take that a step further: For most people, music is an essential part of life. 

For those of you who know me, this position probably doesn’t surprise you. I am—by my own admission—obsessed with music. I play almost a dozen instruments (some of them better than others), have written songs for recording artists, and fronted my own bands since I was 14 years old. A few of my songs have gotten radio play, charted on Billboard, and been featured on TV shows—they weren’t popular enough for me to retire from the royalties, but they were popular enough to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. 

It’s not just my own music I’m obsessed with, either; my music collection is huge and diverse. I love country, pop, rock, americana, classical, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and just about anything you throw at me. I’m not here to gloat about my hipster-envy-inducing vinyl collection…I actually have a larger point. I just want to agree that it’s fair to say that I know a thing or two about this particular subject. Can we agree on this? Ok, let’s move on to the good stuff then!

Written by Jim Sweezy | jimsweezy@inneractionmedia.com

It’s the elephant inside the room. You have become abundantly aware that there is an ever-evolving way of marketing out there – it's all around you. But you're far too busy with the day-to-day responsibilities of running your business to stop and address it. Still, the elephant isn’t budging.

First of all, what do we mean by digital marketing? Digital marketing is an inclusive term for all of your company's online marketing – from your website itself to your online branding assets, social media channels, digital advertising, email marketing, online brochures and beyond. The act of identifying and utilizing which specific tactics and assets will yield the best results for your situation is the strategy. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs & Marketing: Using psychology to succeed in advertising, marketing and sales.

There is a huge psychological component to marketing, advertising and sales. In fact, I’d argue that the majority of what we do is psychology-based. After all, what is marketing other than trying to motivate a person to make a decision to do something you want them to do?

AUTHOR’S NOTE: So let me first say that the title of this article isn’t meant to be condescending or demeaning in any way. My dog is an exceptional marketer. Just check out his Facebook page.

Aside from being my best friend and sometimes roommate, Caboose Arbogast is the chief security officer here at InnerAction Media, and he does a great job. He is dedicated, vigilant and an excellent judge of character. But he’s more than that; he’s a great resource to bounce marketing ideas off of.

Caboose has had some poignant insights over the past few months about how marketing to people is a lot like working with dogs, and I’d like to share a few of them with you here. Ready? Here we go!

Is Your Business Using a 10 Inch Frying Pan?

Jim Matuga, Co-Founder and CEO

In your business, do you have an increase mindset?  Or do you think with an acceptance point-of-view?

That’s what I’d like to talk with you today about.

Does Your Video Have a Purpose?

In the world of video marketing there is no such thing as art. This is something I learned hard and fast as a young, charismatic, recently graduated film student. I grabbed my diploma, my coffee pot and all the clothes I could stuff into my hamper and left the pseudo-reality we call higher education to begin my journey in the real world. I was ready to work for an honest to goodness marketing agency, where people would pay me for my Scorsese-esque films full of beautiful imagery and jaw-dropping cinematography. The only problem: I was living in a fantasy world.

Are you living up to your creative potential? Do you have your imagination on a leash? Creativity is more important now than ever, and is only going to get more valuable as time goes on and technology grows. It’s the way of living that embraces originality and makes connections in your own unique way.

As a former General Manager of an NBC affiliate TV station, I must confess:  I do not watch a lot of TV these days.

That said, On Monday evening as I was flipping through the cable channels at home, my thoughts drifted to marvelling at the sheer amount of different programming options available today.  With sattelite TV, cable, NetFlix, iTunes, DVDs, etc, I wondered - what others are watching today.  

So, I asked.  On Facebook.  I recieved almost 100 comments to my question:  "Quick poll: What is your favorite TV show?"

Last week while meeting with a potential new client in Ohio, the VP of Marketing (35 years in the business) said something that has resonated with me the past several days:

"One of our organization's Core Values is stewardship.  But the reality is I break that core value every day when I purchase newspaper advertising.  I hate it.  When I think about people pulling extra shifts, and all of the hard working people who make our organization great...  The fact is I'm taking that capital and our money and wasting it on newspaper advertising.  It makes me sick."

As a long-time media guy, I hear it every day.  Traditional media just does not perform like it used to.  It's not coming back folks.